1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to lines for carrying pressurized fluids, and deals more particularly with composite tubes and a method of making the tubes.
2. Background
Lines for carrying pressurized fluids are used in a wide variety of applications. Pressurized fluid lines are often made of metal, in part because of their ease of fabrication. Metal fluid lines, however have certain disadvantages in some applications, such as fuel systems for aircraft where tubes, couplers, clamps, brackets and bulkhead fittings are often fabricated from aluminum or titanium. These metal fuel system components add undesirable weight to aircraft and may have less than desired weld strength. Additionally, these metal components must be specially treated to protect against electromagnetic effects (EME) resulting from lightning strikes. The processes used to treat the components against EME are time consuming and add to aircraft production costs. Further, the volumetric chamber used to manufacture these fluid lines is not sufficiently robust to achieve fluid line bend designs with the desired precision.